A vibrant, elegant and delicious way to spend time with my daughter and a Malaysian community so proud of their culture

I recently had two wonderful reasons to attend the Malay Fashion and Cultural Show.

Having just returned from an opportunity to travel to Johor with the Consul-General of Malaysia, Mr Nazarudin Jaafar, I was keen to catch up and discuss some of our experiences. I also needed to spend some time with my daughter Matilda and to take her along to this event was great for both of us.

The afternoon promised cultural performances, live entertainment and a delicious meal. It certainly delivered that and a lot more.

We began our afternoon with a cool glass of bandung and met some of the guests who had been invited, including representatives from Tourism Johor who had looked after me so well on my recent adventure.

With the show about to begin we were escorted to our tables. It wasn’t long before music and dance from Cempakasari, Yayasan Warisan Johor and other groups completely absorbed us in the vibrant culture of Malaysia.

Strong vocal performances by Shahnizam Omar and the very popular Liza Hanim ensured that the audience were inspired and proud.

The fashion parade was extremely elegant and I only wish there had been some men’s fashion on display. Surely next year the Consul-General can model one of his tailor made suits.

With food that was authentic and delicious, Matilda and I made our way through curry, spicy rice, satay and some delicate pandan sweets before making the difficult decision that it was time for us to go home.

The hard work by Makan Angin Perth, Radio Melayu Perth, the Johor Heritage Foundation, Pelangi Biru and of course Imran and everyone else involved made sure that this was an event that was spectacular and inspiring.

In the car on the way home, Matilda couldn’t stop talking about the music, the costumes and the food but most importantly she had a great big smile on her face and said that everyone was so happy and friendly and she wants to go to Malaysia for her next holiday.

What a great idea!